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“No,” Jenna answers. “She never thought anything would happen to her. Well, she did say that if she ever had kids, she’d go on vacation once a year and leave her kids with me.”
“When was this?”
“Before I went to college.”
“So even then she was convinced you could take care of her children?” Veronica asks.
Again, Barbara’s lawyer stands up. “Objection.”
Veronica waves her hand. “I’ll ask something else, Your Honor.”
“Then do it, counsel,” Judge Stanley tells her.
Veronica puts her notes away and straightens her shoulders. “Ms. Holt, are you in a relationship right now?”
“Yes,” Jenna answers.
Technically, we’re still broken up, but Veronica said that didn’t sound good.
“Objection,” Barbara’s lawyer protests. “I don’t see how this is relevant.”
Veronica faces the judge. “Your Honor, it is relevant because Ms. Keating’s camp is using the fact that she has a husband, a potential father figure, as one of the reasons why she should get Shanna.”
“Overruled,” Judge Stanley says. “But do be more direct to the point.”
“Yes, Your Honor.” Veronica turns back to Jenna. “Ms. Holt, you are in a relationship with Dax Bender, are you not?”
“Yes.”
“And he is, for the record, not your brother, half or otherwise.”
“No.”
“And he loves Shanna?”
“He does.”
“So much so that he wouldn’t mind adopting her if the two of you ended up getting married?”
My eyebrows go up. I hadn’t thought of that.
“Objection,” Barbara’s lawyer cuts in again. “If this is about Mr. Bender, maybe it’s him who should be on the stand.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Veronica says. “I have no more questions about Mr. Bender. I think everyone knows who he is anyway.”
“Objection!”
“Ms. Taylor.” Judge Stanley gives her a warning glance.
Veronica clears her throat. “Ms. Holt, you have a job right now as a librarian, right?”
“Yes.”
“That doesn’t pay much, does it?”
“No.”
“Do you plan to be a librarian forever?”
“No,” Jenna answers. “It’s a wonderful job, but my dream is to be a physicist. I plan on going back to school in the fall so I can finish my last semester and get my diploma.”
My eyes grow wide. She’s serious?
“Then I’m going to apply at NASA.”
“Ooh. Big plans,” Veronica says. “And this is all for Shanna?”
Jenna nods. “I want to give her the brightest future I can give.”
“You sound like a mother.”
Barbara’s lawyer stands up. “Objection.”
Veronica steps away. “That’s all I have, Your Honor.”
I grin. Another solid performance.
Now, it’s the turn of Barbara’s lawyer to ask Jenna questions.
“I only have a few questions,” she says. “Ms. Holt, do you and Mr. Bender have plans to get married?”
Jenna shrugs. “We don’t have plans, but I’m open to it.”
Is she?
“And if you get married, do you plan on having your own kids?”
Another shrug. “I suppose so.”
It occurs to me that I’ve never asked her how many children she wants.
“And can you guarantee that you will love Shanna as much as you love them?”
“Well, I make no guarantees, but I will do my best to love all my children equally.”
Barbara’s lawyer nods. “You said you want to work at NASA, right?”
“That’s the dream,” Jenna answers.
“So you’d rather work than take care of a child?”
I frown. I can see where Barbara’s lawyer is going with this.
“I think a woman can do both,” Jenna says.
And I know she can.
“But who will watch over Shanna while you’re at work?” Barbara’s lawyer asks.
“Dax and I will make sure to hire a very trustworthy nanny,” Jenna answers.
I have no objections to that.
“A nanny?” I can almost hear Barbara’s lawyer snort.
For the first time, Veronica stands up. “Objection.”
If she hadn’t stood up, I would have.
“I’ll go to my next question, Your Honor,” Barbara’s lawyer says.
She’d better.
“Do you think, Ms. Holt, that you can make sure no stranger ever takes a picture of Shanna and posts it on the internet again?”
“I don’t think I can do that,” Jenna answers honestly. “But what I will do is teach Shanna to always have good manners and respect for others in public, to not be afraid to be herself, and to not let anything on the internet dictate how she sees herself and lives her life.”
Well said.
“One last question,” Barbara’s lawyer says.
Finally.
“Do you admit that on one occasion you left Shanna at the library and didn’t realize it until hours later?”
I feel a stab in my gut. Fuck.
I’ve never heard of that incident. How did Barbara’s lawyer find out about it?
Veronica stands up. “Objection, Your Honor.”
“I’m simply trying to show that Ms. Holt may love the child but she is not equipped to take care of the child,” Barbara’s lawyer says. “She’s only playing at motherhood. She does not have what it takes to be a mother.”
My jaw clenches. How dare she.
“Your Honor.” Veronica turns to the judge. “Is there any proof of this? I didn’t see any in the evidence.”
“It’s true,” Jenna speaks up.
What? What is she doing?
“I did leave Shanna in the library and only realized it two hours later,” Jenna confesses. “That was one of the days when I hardly slept the night before and my mind was all over the place. I left Shanna in her makeshift crib at the library. She was sleeping. She didn’t get much sleep either. I thought my dad had already come to get her. I went to my car. I actually fell asleep there. Then I woke up and I was about to drive home when I realized I left Shanna. So I went to get her. She was still sleeping.”
